Buffalo Bills Game-day Food: Pancakes With Bourbon-Pepper Syrup

In a column for Buffalo Rumblings, an author shares a game-day pancake recipe featuring bourbon-pepper syrup inspired by an encounter with Dion Dawkins’ mother at the Buffalo Bills‘ home opener this season.

The essay details meeting Dion Dawkins’ mother, known as “Mama Dawk,” and another family member during tailgate rounds before the team’s first meaningful game at their new stadium. During the conversation, the author asked about Dion Dawkins’ favorite food to build a themed recipe around it.

The author learned that pancakes rank as the player’s favorite food, though he was busy preparing to play against the Detroit Lions. To tailor the dish, the author gathered that both sweet and savory flavors were preferred, specifically noting a requirement for crispy edges.

The resulting recipe for Dawkins Pancakes with Bourbon-Pepper Syrup yields enough for four to five people with an active time of 30 minutes and a total time of two to three hours. The syrup requires two serrano peppers, two shots of bourbon, and one cup of maple syrup.

The pancake batter calls for two cups of all-purpose flour, one teaspoon of salt, one tablespoon of baking powder, two large eggs, two cups of heavy cream, one-half cup of maple syrup, one cup of water divided, and three tablespoons of unsalted butter melted, plus extra butter for frying.

Preparation involves slicing the serrano peppers and soaking them in bourbon for one to two hours to infuse the alcohol with capsaicin. The strained bourbon is then combined with maple syrup in a saucepan and simmered on low heat for about ten minutes to cook off the alcohol and reduce the mixture back to a syrup consistency.

The batter is mixed by combining the dry ingredients in a large bowl while whisking the eggs, heavy cream, maple syrup, melted butter, and an initial half-cup of water in a medium bowl. Pouring the liquid mixture slowly into the dry ingredients creates the batter.

Cooking involves placing a pat of butter in the center of a preheated frying pan over medium heat before adding the batter, which displaces the butter outward to create crispy edges. Pancakes cook for about three minutes until bubbles form, then are flipped for another one to two minutes.